The Hatters face Derby County at Pride Park tomorrow afternoon as Graeme Jones’ team aim to stretch their unbeaten run to three games.
With victory over Blackburn Rovers last Saturday and a draw against Millwall on Wednesday night, Town currently sit 17th, just one place and one point below their opponents on Saturday.
The game comes before the international break and the Hatters will hope to go into the two-week period with a win, like they did in August after beating Huddersfield 2-1 at Kenilworth Road.
Derby were denied a valuable three points on Wednesday night as Barnsley scored a 94th minute equaliser, whereas Luton fought back against Millwall to score a late leveller of their own.
The Rams are currently unbeaten in four matches, but should the Hatters triumph at Pride Park, they could go as high as 12th in the table – if results go their way.
International supporters will be able to stream and follow the game at Pride Park live on iFollow Hatters. Subscribers can also tune in to Simon Pitts’ full match commentary as well.
GRAEME JONES SAID:
Please note these quotes are taken from Graeme’s press conference earlier on today
On how the squad is looking and their fitness: “No knocks really (from Millwall). We’ve got one or two more physical decisions to make at the weekend, obviously it’s just over 48 hours (since Wednesday night) until we play Derby so we definitely have to take that into consideration and utilise the squad, that’s why we’ve been working with the group of players in the Carabao Cup.
“You now see the benefit of the Carabao Cup, we had three really competitive games which we took a lot from, so we’re assessing people when we train this afternoon and tomorrow morning about how they feel, but I’m not frightened to use the players we’ve got in the squad, they’ve been worked exactly the same from day one as everybody else in the squad – tactically, technically and physically. We’re constantly assessing and we will see where we are tomorrow.”
On the three impact substitutes against Millwall: “That’s what we ask for, I want a problem, I want to have a problem to deal with. The back three shape that we played in the last ten minutes looked really effective so that’s something else we’re looking at going into the game, but personnel will dictate that.
“I liked many, many things that I saw on Wednesday night, it was really satisfying but obviously we need to go to Derby and we need to be competitive. We have to give Derby full respect, they play 4-2-3-1 and they’ve got exceptional individuals. They have obviously spent a lot of money on players, so we just need to go there and be ready for the fixture.”
On the game: “I think Derby have only lost two games this season, we’re expecting a really, really competitive game and one we have to be ready for.”
WHO?
Relegated from the Premier League in 2008, Derby have reached the play-off final twice since but failed to reach the top-flight on both occasions. Manager Phillip Cocu took over in the summer, succeeding Frank Lampard - who led the Rams to a sixth place finish last season.
WHEN AND WHERE?
Kick-off is 3pm at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday 5th October.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE?
The referee for Saturday’s game is Geoff Eltringham – who has taken charge of eight games this season, six of which have been in the Championship. Eltringham has dished out 25 yellow cards as well as two reds.
TICKET INFORMATION
The Town Ticket Office would like to advise that 2,529 tickets have been sold for tomorrow’s fixture at Derby County. The Rams have agreed that they will make further tickets available in the away section to purchase on the day if supporters still wish to travel. There is a price increase, with tickets costing: Adults: £32.00, 18-21s: £22.00, Seniors: £21.00, Under 18s: £17.00, 2-12: £11.00. Tickets will need to be purchased from the away ticket cabin at the south-east corner of the stadium.
PLAYED BEFORE?
Luton and Derby have played each other 41 times in all competitions, though their last meeting dates back to 2007. Derby narrowly hold the upper hand with 16 wins, while Luton have 15 wins and the two sides have drawn 10 times.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
The main blow-by-blow action account of the action from Pride Park will be provided via the Match Centre on the club website, which you can access by clicking here. (*Please note that the club’s Live Text will appear only by accessing through an internet browser, users of the Luton Town FC app will receive updates from Opta)
The main moments from the game will appear on the Hatters’ social media feeds:
Twitter – @LutonTown
Facebook – www.facebook.com/LutonTown/
Instagram – www.instagram.com/ltfc_official/